CIA runs 3,000-strong covert army to hunt down al-Qaida in Pakistan

America’s CIA is running a 3,000-strong covert army to hunt down key leaders of Taliban and al-Qaida in not only Afghanistan but across the border in Pakistan.

This heavily-armed irregular force manned entirely by Afghan personnel operates in small units called Counter- terrorism Pursuit Teams, the New York Times reported today quoting extracts from a new book ‘Obama’s wars’ by journalist Bob Woodward.

The stunning disclosures in the book which is making waves for laying bare the policy divisions and the personality clashes among the Obama advisors on the Afghan policy may complicate relations between Washington and Islamabad, the paper said.